Designed with input from pro Kelli Emmett, the Anthem X 29 W is a female counterpart to Giant’s Anthem X Advanced 29er. Like the men’s version, the 29 W has 4 inches of travel controlled by Giant’s Maestro suspension. To better fit female riders, Giant shortened and sloped the top tube, while nudging the head and seat tube angles up by only a half a degree. The head tube is also slightly longer than the men’s version and the bike is dressed with women’s components including lighter wheels, narrower handlebars and a women’s saddle. Unlike the men’s Anthem, which is available in carbon, the 29 W is constructed from aluminum.

Open may be a new name but its owerns, Gerard Vroomen and Andy Kessler, are no strangers to the bike business. Vroomen is a co-founder of Cervelo and Kessler is the former CEO of BMC. Gerard brings his engineering know how to the mountain bike world with a carbon hardtail that shared many features with Cervelo road frame, including its BBright bottom bracket, flat seatstays, oversized chainstays and flat-sided downtube. Kessler said he expects Shimano to produce an electronic shifting group for mountain bikes in the near future and Open’s modular cable stops will accommodate a wired system.

The 900-gram frame retails for $2,700 and will be available by the end of June.

Norco will add three 29er models to its Fluid line for 2013, all of which will have aluminum frames and value-minded parts. The company has yet to finalize price, geometry or other details, but expect between 120mm and 140mm of travel controlled by Norco’s four-bar ART linkage.

The new Fluid 29ers, like the 9.2 model shown here, should be in shops by October.

Felt recently unveiled a 100mm-travel 29er based on the company’s Edict cross-country model. Like the 26-inch-wheel version, the Edict 9 is built around Felt’s FAST suspension platform, which uses a carbon swingarm and flexing stays instead of pivots at the rear dropouts. Felt designers say the system is lighter and stiffer than traditional linkages. It also offers a supple feel early in the shock stroke.

The Edict 9 will be available in three carbon versions topping out at $10,000 for the LTD. Two lower-cost aluminum models start at $2,500.

Commencal will offer a 130mm-travel 29er next year. Designed for aggressive riders, the bike has a suspension platform based on Commencal’s Supreme downhill bike. The Meta has a trail-friendly 68-degree headtube angle and its cables route internally through the front triangle and chainstays.

The company expects to have two yet-to-be-priced complete bikes and a $1,840 frame available this month.

Brent Foes has worked hard on his company’s first trail 29er, dubbed the Shaver 29. Like other Foes models, this one features a hydroformed downtube and low 2.3:1 leverage ratio. The bike’s travel can be adjusted from 5.5 inches to 5 inches. To increase frame stiffness, Foes added a bridge on the seatstays, tapered headtube and 142x12 rear thru-axle. The Shaver also comes with dropper-post guides and ISCG 05 chainguide mounts.

BMC will offer its first carbon 29er next season, the Team Elite TE01 29. The hardtail race bike is designed to be light, stiff and incredibly fast. A combination of tube shapes and sizes offers a small amount of frame compliance to take the sting out of rough racecourses. The bike has a racer-friendly 70-degree headtube and short 16.8-inch chainstays.

The $5,500 bike weighs a claimed 22 pounds (size medium) and will start hitting dealer floors in early June.

Focus brings the speed with its Raven 29R carbon hardtails. While designed for racing, this is one of the only hardtails we’ve seen with guides for dropper-post cables. Its wide, flat seatstays increase lateral rigidity yet offer a bit of vertical compliance. A tapered headtube and press-fit BB30 bottom bracket further boost stiffness. Cables are routed internally and the rear brake caliper is mounted on the chainstay where it receives more cooling airflow, Focus says.

The Raven 29R 1.0 shown here runs $6,950, but less expensive versions start at $3,400 and all models are available now.

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